Polish Hat Eagles

Article about: In my opinion this particular cap eagle was made by G.J. Garratt Toronto. Very unique, hard to find.

re: Polish Hat Eagles

As promised, finally getting around to addressing a couple of points raised earlier:

by Taurus

I do not quite follow you. How come you apply a late 30s regulation to a badge made in early 20s? The Polish hat badge in my photo was made around 1925.

This eagle badge was definitely not made around 1925. This pattern is of late 1930’s vintage, as are all eagle badges marked “BM”. You had previously cited the "Warunki techniczne materiałów wojskowych" publication of the Dep. Intendentury. MsWojsk. This document issued in 1933 specified the alpacca alloy composition for eagle badges (14% nickel, 66% copper, 20% zinc). It was at this time that eagle production moved away from brass to white metal, either stamped entirely in the alloy, or in some cases plated. This was typically denoted by the letters “BM” applied by some manufacturers to their eagles, and was also found on other uniform components produced in the latter half of the 1930’s such as belt buckles, officer cap visor rims, etc. (an example of each posted below)

I offer this bit of supporting evidence for the production period of these Skarnik and Fiszbein eagles. Pictured below is an original, unaltered and complete wz.35 infantry officer’s rogatywka cap from my collection. It was obtained from the family of the officer. It is dated on the inside of the sweatband May 2, 1938 (a known practice of this particular hat maker, J. Miron, Wilno). The original eagle is a Skarnick and Fiszbein product of the same pattern as yours, bearing the familiar anchor mark. This distinct eagle pattern (curiously also produced by GUZPOL) is commonly found on wz.35 officer rogatywka caps of the latter 1930’s. They are not found as original equipment on earlier pattern rogatywki, which came equipped with earlier type wz.19 eagle badges.

by Taurus

You can judge the production date by many indicators including the signature, the shape of the washer, the shape of nut and the post to name just a few.

The majority of hat eagles, especially from the first half of the IIRP period do not have maker marks. Very little production information has survived from pre-WW2 manufacturers, so many of the surviving eagles remain unknown as to their origin. This fact is widely acknowledged in reference literature on the topic. Secondly, in contrast to regimental and commemorative badges, nuts (and washers) when used as a fastening method on eagles were rarely marked with the badge maker’s name. And by their nature they are easily interchangeable as post diameters and thread pitches were common between many eagles. So this is not too reliable for deriving much useful information regarding a badge maker or production date.

by Taurus

On another subject. The Polish hat badge on the left (#163) which you suppose to be a French variant of Alavoine production is actually a Palestine stamped brass plated eagle

It was an eagle that I hadn’t investigated at time of that post over two and a half years ago. I may have just acquired it back then, and was observing that it had very similar design details to the known Alavoine it was pictured with. I correctly identified it in subsequent post #432 where this same eagle is pictured on the top row second from left.

Regards,
Tony

Click to enlarge the picture

All thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical and/or legal advice.

"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne

re: Polish Hat Eagles

acquired over the passage of time, variations on a theme. wasn't present at the time and place of manufacture so cannot vouch for their authenticity. could be in with a chance though. as a matter of interest the screw post has a royal or imperial thread , most likely BA ( British Association )

re: Polish Hat Eagles

Hi
I would say – Great Set of “Spink” Eagles.
I would notice 2 points
1. Please notice the top left Eagle – the wings at the link with the torso are symmetrical. This is the variation I have presented above . From my experience this particular “symmetrical” Spink is far less common than “non-symmetrical” one” variant (3 of your remaining Eagles).
2. The lower right – seems to be casted not stamped. Personally, I am not sure if the casted one is a period made.

by prosty zolnierz

acquired over the passage of time, variations on a theme. wasn't present at the time and place of manufacture so cannot vouch for their authenticity. could be in with a chance though. as a matter of interest the screw post has a royal or imperial thread , most likely BA ( British Association )

re: Polish Hat Eagles

greetings, giving the bottom right eagle a good coat of looking at. had the wire brush on it. it is die struck but rear is rough as a bear's arse. could be one of those " early bird's " formed from lightweight gauge metal. there again could be garbage.